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On its 20th birthday, Wikipedia might be the safest place online

Heather Kelly

January 15, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Wikipedia’s large number of volunteer editors document history in real time, while making sure different viewpoints are considered and avoiding misinformation. While other social media sites are hesitant to label unreliable sources and misinformation, Wikipedia clearly labels controversial and unproven topics and deploys many tools to avoid false information. A single page per topic makes monitoring easier, pages can be locked from new edits, and people who frequently make false edits can be banned. While it doesn’t claim to be a reliable source, editors do follow policies meant to keep out anything untrue.

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Aid groups aim to bring health care to migrants on way to US

Julie Watson

December 28, 2020 |

Associated Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Matamoros

The Global Response Management is a humanitarian nonprofit led by U.S. military veterans and staffed by U.S. volunteers and "paid asylum seekers who were medical professionals in their homelands" that offers medical help to migrants at two clinics in Matamoros, Mexico – including, most recently, COVID-19 antibody tests. Although the organization's future is uncertain, it is not alone in its efforts, and it and other humanitarian aid organizations plan to continue collecting health data.

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The NewsRun, a daily newsletter about Pakistan, cuts through the noise of a cluttered media market

Hanaa’ Tameez

November 24, 2020 |

Nieman Lab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The NewsRun is “a daily newsletter that summarizes Pakistan’s major stories of the day." It’s helping Pakistani people stay on top of the news. Some Pakistani people who live in the country get overwhelmed with the daily news cycle, while Pakistani’s living abroad might have a language barrier or lack the context to understand the news. The clear, direct language of the newsletter makes the news accessible. "The way it’s written is clear and it highlights all the key points I need to know." The newsletter has thousands of Instagram followers and a “20 to 30 percent daily open rate.”

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Four journalists experiment with kid-friendly podcast to inform under-12s about the news

Sophie Aristotelous

November 12, 2020 |

Journalism.co.uk |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

There isn’t a lot of media outlets providing age-appropriate news for children. So, four journalists came together to create “KidNuz,” a children’s news podcast. The show has garnered thousands of listeners. “Although KidNuz's listenership is mainly between the ages of eight and 12, children as young as five, and even adults, listen in.” The podcast provides children with news about “about politics, current events, or science, with inspiring humanity stories, for example, about people doing charitable work or helping animals.”

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On Election Day, Facebook and Twitter Did Better by Making Their Products Worse

Kevin Roose

November 05, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites defended against election-related disinformation campaigns by quickly identifying and removing fake accounts and putting labels and warnings on posts that made false claims of voter fraud and premature claims of victory. Instead of frictionless usability, they slowed or shut down core parts of their products such as limiting political ads, tweaking recommendation algorithms, and/or preventing sharing and comments on questionable posts. Threats will continue in the weeks ahead, but the companies have prevented widespread disinformation campaigns so far.

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Social Media Companies Survived Election Day. More Tests Loom.

Kate Conger Daisuke Wakabayashi Mike Isaac

November 04, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube implemented pre-planned measures that limited the ability to use their sites to spread election-day disinformation. Twitter quickly added warning labels to election day tweets from political figures, including the president, that falsely claimed vote fraud or victory. Sharing and commenting on the tweets was also limited. Facebook also labeled disinformation posts but did not prevent commenting, liking, or sharing them. Some election-related videos on YouTube were removed for spreading disinformation, violating the company’s policy prohibiting deceptive practices and scams.

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2020 is a curveball for civics. How Chicago classrooms are responding

Cassie Walker Burke

November 04, 2020 |

Chalkbeat |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago-area high school teachers are approaching the mental-toll of election cycles on their students by rethinking curricula. Some teachers are approaching election anxiety by hosting empathetic dialogues by addressing students' anxieties and exploring their individual powers. Students also completed lessons that required them to have conversations with the adults in their lives regarding general voting information. Other educators are placing emphasis on exploring media literacy and understanding online propaganda with students.

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To Recognize Misinformation in Media, Teach a Generation While It's Young

Amy Yee

October 23, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Media Literacy Now is a nonprofit aimed at combatting misinformation, especially on social media platforms, and lobbying for media literacy education in schools. The organization was started by Erin McNeill in 2013 and played a hand in the formation of 30 bills in 18 states. The organization also provides resources on its website, including toolkits for teachers to incorporate media literacy in their lessons, and templates for emails and letters people can send to their local officials in support of increased media literacy in schools.

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How to put the internet in a box

Tom Colls

October 20, 2020 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Bangladesh

Offline communities are being connected to the world's information through a network of people who physically carry data on devices containing content from Wikipedia and Khan Academy. Residents in a Himalayan village not only consumed the information but also asked for an offline wifi network which allowed them to create and share their own media. In Rohingya refugee camps, tablets were handed out to quell rampant disinformation about the spread of coronavirus. The tablets were equipped with videos from trusted health sources to provide reliable information about staying safe and healthy.

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This game can stop people from falling for COVID-19 conspiracies

Ruth Reader

October 13, 2020 |

FastCompany |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, Cambridge, England

To combat the spread of conspiracy theories, researchers at Cambridge’s Social Decision Making Lab have created an interactive game that puts users in the shoes of "manipulators" to teach them how to "question social media posts that have the hallmarks of engineered virality." Although experts say playing the game just one time will likely not result in sustainable change, a similar game that focused on understanding how fake news was created found that users' beliefs in fake news decreased by an average of 21%.

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